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He stopped, turning to stare at me incredulously. “Are you insane? The entire court is here. Teodosija had already called off the mission, but you snuck out before she could tell you.” He narrowed his eyes on me. “Thanks for that, by the way. Dad is pissed.”
I flinched. “Look. I’ve already infiltrated the castle. I’m so close to killing the Beast and I’ve been gathering intel, too. “
Roza crossed her muscular arms, flipping her shorn hair to the side. “Like what?”
“Like the fact that they can’t make any more speaking stones. If we can break them, we’ll hinder their communications, making it harder for them to expand.”
Cithara nodded. “Teodosija and Haemir can use that.”
“What my dad needs is his daughter,” Gavril said, grabbing my hand once again. “Come on, Kael. It’s too dangerous. You don’t have any backup.”
“I have help. The tailor, Kadir, is one of us.” I shook my head.”I’m staying. I can do this. I swear it. Theron keeps me close, I can—“
“Theron?” His features twisted. “You mean the Marshal?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. When had I started thinking of him as Theron and not the Marshal? Maybe when I woke up in his bed...
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m so close to completing this mission.” He shook his head, ready to argue more when I cut him off. “We don’t have time for this. Someone is going to come any second.” Pulling him into another embrace, words spilled out of me. “I have an ally. I’ll send you updates, alright?”
He nodded reluctantly. “You better, or I’m coming in for you. I don’t care that the emperor is here.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just tell dad I’m alright. And that I’m sorry.”
“I’ll tell him the first part, but the second one is all you.”
“Enough of this,” Roza growled. “We’re leaving.”
I pulled Gavril into a quick hug, desperate to soak up as much affection as possible before he left. “Skirt around the guard station and go up the mountain a bit and you should make it out with no one seeing you. They all go to bed at dawn and will be lazy.”
“More intel,” Cithara murmured as Roza scowled, stalking out into the early morning, the Fae Remnant following behind her.
“Be safe.” Gavril shot me one last look before running after them. His easy jog soothed most of my worries about his torture. He’d heal from all of it.
I blew out a breath before leaving the dungeon. Their shadows melted into the remaining pools of darkness as I hurried back to the castle. I needed to return to the suite before the Marshal or I’d be back in one of those cells myself.
I was almost there, just a few steps away from the entrance when a figure stepped out from the shadows. Xadrian emerged from the darkness, his wavy dark hair so mussed his pale streak was barely visible. His beauty mark danced on his cheek as he regarded me with a smirk.
“We meet again.” He said, his voice smooth and measured as if he met concubines in darkened courtyards all the time. For all I knew, he did. “What were you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
My heart lurched into my throat, but I kept my voice level. “Just out for some air.”
He stepped closer, and I had to force myself not to step back. “Alone?”
I nodded, unable to find words amidst my sudden fear he would give me away. After all, why was he here? Was he also looking for someone?
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Theron should be more careful with his possessions.”
“I am not his property.” I snapped, my better judgment fleeing in the face of my anger.
“Is that right? Then where are you hurrying off to?”
I scowled at him. “None of your business.”
He laughed, low and intimate in the darkness. A bright ring glinted on his finger as he grasped my hand, his skin warm against mine.
“Come with me,” he murmured, his voice dark and seductive. “Let’s find out how much you don’t belong to him.”
I recoiled from Xadrian’s grasp, feeling a spark of power between us. A deafening boom sounded as a jagged rock close by split into two pieces, and I seized the opportunity to escape. Sprinting across the grounds, I didn’t look back until I reached the castle entrance, Xadrian’s laughter echoing in my ears.
